Technology exports from Russia

Technology exports from Moscow

• Technology exports from Moscow

Main article: Russian Foreign Trade

2024: Where to go to the Russian IT-Business in India. Life hacks from the "digital attaché" at the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation

Despite the sanctions policy, recently the trade turnover between Russia and India has grown, amounting to more than $64 billion in 2023. Its main share falls on raw materials, but there is great potential to cooperate in the field of technologies, including information, according to the Trade Representative Office of the Russian Federation in India.

Oksana Agafonova, "digital attaché" of the Russian Trade Mission in India, at an event on the prospects of Russian IT companies in this market on December 11, cited data that the Indian IT market is quite large - in 2024 its volume is estimated at $254 billion, and the industry's share in the country's GDP is 7.4%. And in the near future, Indians expect to significantly increase this figure.

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From a presentation by Oksana Agafonova

As part of attracting investment in the Indian economy and supporting foreign companies intending to implement projects in the country, the Indian government under the local Ministry of Industry and Trade created the Invest India agency, on the basis of which the Russia Desk department operates, which provides comprehensive support to Russian companies.

Competition in the Indian IT market is quite high - in addition to world leaders, local players also occupy strong positions. Some have long since become multinational companies. The Digital Attaché cited examples of the largest IT companies operating in India. At the moment, the country is more interested in some new products that are poorly represented on the market than in basic solutions, Oksana Agafonova noted.

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From a presentation by Oksana Agafonova

One of the interesting areas is digital platforms, they are one of the important aspects of the state program Digital India, which aims to turn India into a digital power based on the knowledge economy by digitalizing key areas of life of Indians of all ages and social strata.

Digital Attaché has identified a number of main areas for IT cooperation. These include cybersecurity, artificial intelligence technologies, quantum computing, fintech and a number of others (see below).

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From a presentation by Oksana Agafonova

Cybersecurity in particular is one of the fastest growing IT sectors in India, having tripled in the last three years. Indian companies are facing more cyber attacks, especially the banking sector. Against this background, there is a trend towards an increase in investment in information security.

There is a large scope for growth in the field of Industry 4.0: more than 40% of Indian enterprises are in the initial stages of introducing digital solutions in this area, Oksana Agafonova cited data. And this despite the fact that the industrial sector accounts for a significant part of GDP. And in 2025, more than 70% of companies plan additional investments in this area. And the most popular segments are the Internet of Things, cloud solutions, communications and robotics solutions.

In the field of smart cities and smart transport, there are also great prospects. There is also a separate state program. And the most in demand are solutions for optimizing resources, such as, for example, energy consumption. There is also a demand for products for traffic control and for video surveillance. Gostenders periodically appear for the implementation of such solutions. The agriculture industry also provides prospects for IT companies. It employs almost 60% of the population, and the Indian government is making great efforts to optimize this industry.

To do this, various electronic platforms are being introduced, including to ensure the access of peasants, farmers to digital services and support programs. There is also a special mission related to digital agriculture, operating since 2019. Here solutions are in demand for optimizing agriculture, predicting yields, analyzing soils, etc.

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From a presentation by Oksana Agafonova

One of the good tools for working with Indian partners and entering the local market are associations, Oksana Agafonova believes. Firstly, it is convenient to look for partners in the market through them, and secondly, they often act as organizers of large industry events, where it is also possible to establish contacts.

There are various forms of entry into the Indian market, including direct sales. This is not the best option given that India has a program that assumes priority for products that are created domestically. In the case of software, you can use a distribution agreement with a local partner.

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From a presentation by Oksana Agafonova

Often companies choose to create a joint venture with the participation of the Russian and Indian parties. You can open your own company. But here it is important to know that in order to open your company in India, at least two founders are needed, one of which must be a resident, while the resident is not equal to the citizen.

When working in the Indian market, as in any other, it is important to take into account local cultural characteristics, the "digital attaché" emphasized. Indian business culture is largely different from what entrepreneurs in Russia and Europe are used to, and at first it may be unusual for them to work in this market.

Among the unusual points that are noted in companies that already have experience in India, the tightness of communications, as well as the often need to personally communicate with a person where there may be enough remote interaction in Russia.

2023

Ministry of Digital Development Industry of the Russian Federation radically revises state support for IT exports

On December 6, 2023, it became known that the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation intends to radically revise the scheme of state support for the export of software and radio electronics. It is assumed that the circle of companies that can count on such assistance will be limited.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, the Ministry of Digital Development discussing a new mechanism with specialized associations. Only those companies that will be part of the future self-regulatory organization (SRO) called "IT exporters of Russia" will be able to apply for state support for IT exports. Among the alleged founders of this structure are ARPP "Domestic Software," "Russoft," the Association of Computer and Information Technology Enterprises, the Association of Electronics Manufacturers and Developers, etc.

Ministry of Digital Development intends to radically revise the scheme of state support for the export of software and radio electronics

Those enterprises that meet a number of criteria will be able to become participants in SRO: this is the presence of export experience, confirmed experience in the field of international logistics, etc. In addition, it is proposed to form a "list of products with export maturity." SRO participants will be able to count on "priority state support in terms of export of products and services."

The Ministry of Digital Development states that the initiative will systematize data on the readiness of Russian companies to bring products to foreign markets. And this will help adapt export support tools in accordance with the market situation. Industry participants say that the project will make it possible, on the one hand, to create a single window for receiving support, and, on the other, to filter out companies that do not have significant export potential. At the same time, there are certain risks: some experts believe that the proposed selection criteria "can create an unnecessarily high entry threshold for small companies and startups, which will deprive them of the opportunity to receive state support."^[1]

Named the top 5 countries in terms of the export potential of ICT services from Russia. Schedule

In November 2023, a rating of the countries' export potential for Russian digital solutions was released. It is compiled for the basis of data from the World Bank, IMF, Heritage Foundation, etc. It included 192 states that are members of the UN. The study combines different criteria and parameters, such as economic, technological and infrastructure factors, as well as language and cultural aspects.

The countries are divided into groups. Group A includes the most attractive markets for Russian IT products with six or more points. In groups B (3-6 points) and C (2.5-3 points), attractive sales markets with a number of restrictions are presented.

The top 5 countries most promising for export countries included, Kazakhstan,, and PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Belarus. Brazil Group India B is leading,,, and. Uzbekistan Argentina Egypt Israel Group B Peru is headed by,,,,. In Dominican Republic Bahrain the group of Ecuador Tajikistan Ghana the most attractive countries, South Asia America is in the lead, in groups B and C.

According to analysts, Asia gained a leading position in the ranking due to the level of GDP and the degree of economic and political integration with Russia. Despite this, the region has developed countries that are not attractive to export ICT services due to political status, such as Singapore and Japan.

South America, as noted in the report, is rather weakly economically and politically integrated with Russia: in many countries of South America there are no trade representative offices and "digital attaches," the volume of trade with the Russian Federation is quite low. In the future, the region may be attractive for export due to the high level of Internet use by the population.

Africa is the only ranking region where digital rating criteria are lower on average than political and economic ones. The position of the region is due to the concentration of the economic potential of the region in several countries and the low level of GDP, economic and political integration with Russia.

Ranking of countries for priority promotion of Russian digital solutions]

The Ministry of Digital Development Science and Minek see great prospects for ICT trade with Africa. Which technologies are most in demand

The volume of Russian exports of telecommunications, computer and information services to the countries of the African region is still relatively small, but in Ministry of Digital Development they see significant prospects for increasing Russian-African trade. This was announced on July 28, 2023 at a conference dedicated to cooperation between Russia and Africa, said Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Alexander Shoitov.

Earlier, the department cited an estimate that in the period from January to September 2022, the volume of exports of such services amounted to $8.1 million, and imports - $2.7 million^[2].

I am convinced that digital transformation for Africa is of great importance, since, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the ICT solutions market for the public sector is estimated at about $100 billion for the period up to 2030, says Alexander Shoitov.

Russian companies have had interest in cooperation with Africa before, but in 2022 it grew after the closure of a number of export markets

Russia has many developments in the field of ICT and information security, and companies are ready to share their expertise with African countries. This idea was repeatedly voiced during the discussions of the prospects for Russian-African cooperation on July 27-28. The direction of information security can be highlighted as especially relevant, due to the fact that one of the most serious problems facing Africa now is the lack of a full-fledged information security infrastructure.

For example, about 90% of African enterprises operate without INTERPOL ^[3] cybersecurity protocols]. Also, many African countries have not yet developed legislation covering all aspects of^[4] information security^[5]which prevents the effective fight against cyber threats. Africa's low level of cyber threat preparedness cost states an average of 10% of GDP in 2022, according to ECAUNECA - United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Aminata Zerbo Sabane, Minister of Digital Transition, Mail and Electronic Communications of the African country of Burkina Faso, lamented on July 28 that their country felt the destructive impact of attackers on ICT infrastructure. She noted that their department is cooperating with Russia in order to ensure the digital security of its state.

The day before, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Minister of Information and Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier Services of the Republic of Zimbabwe Dr. Jenfan Muswere signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of international information security^[6].

The chief executive officer of the SAMENA Telecommunications Council, Bokar Ba, among the technological areas that are now actively developing in Africa, cited 4G and 5G networks, the Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics and access control, and artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence, in particular, is a priority in accordance with national development plans in 21 of the 32 countries in Africa that responded to the corresponding UNESCO survey. Such data was announced by the first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank Alexander Vedyakhin. The use of artificial intelligence technologies, in particular, is gaining momentum in Africa in the fields of health, agriculture, etc.

Sberbank, as one of the leaders in the development of AI solutions in Russia, is itself ready to share its developments in this area with African countries, including solutions for predicting climate risks, agriculture and health care, says Alexander Vedyakhin.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vladimir Ilyichev believes that Russia is ready to implement joint projects with African partners - both for the implementation and development of AI technologies. In his opinion, the technology market of African countries has great prospects. And some Russian IT companies are already actively working there. As an example, the deputy minister cited Yandex (taxi projects in other areas), Kaspersky Lab, Cognitive Pilot, Neoflex, Promobot.

I personally have friends who work at Yandex and are engaged in African projects. Projects are already being implemented in Congo, Senegal, Cameroon, Zambia, "Vladimir Ilyichev shared.

On July 28, Boris Simis, Deputy Director General for Business Development, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of Positive Technologies, said that their company is discussing with representatives of Morocco the creation of a joint venture on cybersecurity based on a national telecom operator.

President of VimpelCom (works on the market under the beeline brand ) Rashid Ismailov believes that in Africa Russian technologies for laying cables would be useful, which may be relevant for landlocked countries and for underwater laying of cables for island countries like the Comoros Islands.

There is a huge water area around Africa, and an underwater fiber optic cable could solve a number of problems at once and help African countries reduce dependence on Western technologies.

Chapter "Security Code": To increase the export of Russian IT products, officials must take an example  from China

The "security code" is aimed at exporting its products to foreign markets, but faces some difficulties. On June 19, 2023, the general director of the company Andrei Golov spoke about them at a press conference on the next generation Russian firewalls (NGFW).

If we talk about the markets of the Middle East or Africa, in particular, there is not such an advanced infrastructure as in Russia. "We are able to close all their needs without problems," notes Andrey Golov. However, there is not enough "brand and support," unlike the Chinese, who also actively operate in these regions in various industries.

Like the Chinese: Xi Jinping arrives, shakes hands, officials come, shakes hands with everyone, media comes. They write everywhere in all the media how good we are. A businessman arrives and turns it into a commercial contract. This is how the Chinese "machine" works, not only in IT: everywhere - in the power, in banks. Look at what they're doing with Africa and the Middle East. But we don't have that. We arrived, shook hands with everyone in the government commission and disappeared for six months. And there is not a single contract, nothing. This is what I saw, - said the general director of the Security Code.

We have it, but only in certain industries, added Andrey Golov. So far, this does not apply to IT. Although, attaches to IT appeared, who were tasked with promoting Russian technologies. But there must be a comprehensively connected machine in order to succeed: the creation of technology parks, training, international contracts, and the exchange of experience. Then something will go, says the general director of the Security Code.

The Chinese "machine" works very well when it comes to exports

In early June 2023, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announced that a special mechanism had been created that would help expand the presence of Russian IT companies in foreign markets: the so-called "digital attache" service, which will work at trade missions in foreign countries in the near future. Such employees will appear in 26 countries of the world, including such regions as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, South America^[7].

As of the end of May 2023, six "digital attaches" have already been appointed: in Malaysia, Argentina, Vietnam, South Africa, Cuba and China.

And in February 2023, it was reported that the Security Code was one of more than 15 companies that participated in the preparation of digital attaches. Yandex, MyOffice, SearchInform, Astra, InfoWatch and others also participated in this.

Speaking of export history as a whole, Andrey Golov is pointed to another observation: foreign customers have no particular desire to change the American or Chinese "black box" to the Russian "black box."

They have no intention of doing that. They have the intention to build joint products, exchange technologies, build a local support, - says the general director of Security Code.

Speaking about the peculiarities of competition with foreign products in foreign markets, in the Middle East, for example, Andrey Golov noted one of the moments that the "Security Code" also faced. For example, in Abu Dhabi or Dubai (UAE), the supplier is given an Excel file with product requirements for Gartner, which must be filled in by items with "pros" or "cons." It happens that the requirements indicate functionality that, according to the "Security Code," is already outdated, and the company has a newer technology to replace it. But in the corresponding field you still have to put a "minus." I.e. customers continue to live on the Gartner models they received earlier.

Note that the "Security Code" began to make attempts to master foreign markets back in the mid-2010s: in 2015 - in Latin America, in 2017 - in the Middle East^[8].

2022: Sudan for 5 years bought Russian drones worth 360 million rubles

Between 2018 and 2022, Russia exported drones worth 600 million rubles, and most of the supplies (about 62%, or 360 million rubles) fell on Sudan. This is stated in the strategy for the development of domestic unmanned aircraft systems (ALS) until 2030 published by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in April 2023.

As they write Sheets"" with reference to this document, the second place in terms of purchases of Russian drones for 2018-2022. took with Venezuela a 12% share of exports (72 million rubles). Next is located Uzbekistan (9%, 54 million rubles). At the same time, from March 2022, a government ban was introduced on the supply of drones, aircraft and satellites abroad. It does not apply only to supplies states to - members, and Eurasian Economic Union Abkhazia South Ossetia. The ban was extended until December 31, 2023 and the provision of permits for the export of ALS is possible only by decision of the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Ministers on the basis of proposals from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, a ministry spokesman said, the newspaper said.

Most of the Russian drone exports came from Sudan

The dominance in the structure of Russian exports of ALS of Sudan, Venezuela and Uzbekistan, according to the representative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, is due to the needs of customers from these states.

Russian drones can be used to monitor work processes in various sectors of the economy, from agriculture to the oil and gas industry. Experts interviewed by the publication believe that Russian drones have high export potential.

At the same time, Vasily Kashin, director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics, says that Russian arms exports could receive an additional hundreds of millions of dollars a year if the country had competitive heavy attack drones.^[9]

2020

Leading countries in purchasing Russian ICT products and services

In 2020, the export of services related to information and communication technologies (ICT) from Russia amounted to $5.94 billion against $5.49 billion a year earlier (an increase of 8%). At the same time, the supply of ICT equipment decreased by 27% - from $2.51 billion to $1.83 billion. This was reported at the Institute for Statistical Research and Economics of Knowledge (ISIEZ) of the Higher School of Economics. In their calculations, experts referred to the data of Rosstat, the FCS of Russia and the Bank of Russia.

Among the countries, Russian companies provided the most computer services in the United States (about 32%). In Britain and Cyprus, shares amounted to 8% each. In terms of exports of Russian telecommunications services in 2020, Britain was in the lead with a 12% indicator. In Cyprus and the United States, shares were 7% each. The top three countries for the export of Russian information services at the end of 2020 is as follows: Britain (14%), Japan (10%), the United States (10^[10] The situation^[11] the export of ICT equipment can be understood from the diagrams below. It can be seen from them that the lion's share of equipment supplies falls on the CIS countries.

A little more than a third of Russian exports of ICT devices in 2020 fell on computers and peripheral equipment. The supply of communication equipment took 25.5% of the supply of domestic ICT goods abroad against 19.9% in 2019. The share of consumer electronics during this time, on the contrary, decreased - from 25.2% to 22.7%, and the share of other components and goods related to ICT fell from 20.3% to 15.5%.

The ICT services segment is dominated by the export of computer services - their share in 2020 was equal to 85.8%, increasing from 81.8% a year earlier. Telecommunications services accounted for 12.2% of ICT services exports (in 2019 - 15.5%), information services - 2% (in 2019 - 2.7%).

The full report is here.

Online exports of goods from Russia increased by 42%

The volume of online retail exports of goods from Russia at the end of 2020 is estimated at $1.16 billion, which is 42% higher than a year ago. Such data are provided in a study jointly conducted by eBay and Data Insight. Read more here.

Export of electronic integrated circuits to Taiwan in the amount of $0.75 million in four months

The capital's enterprises increased the export of electronic integrated circuits by more than 30% Taiwan - in the first four months of 2020 they were delivered in the amount of 0.75 million $ UNITED STATES.. This is almost half of the export Moscow of all industrialists' goods to the island. This was announced on July 8, 2020 by DIiPP. Moscow More. here

2019: Country's place on computer device export map

2018: Russian tech exports rise for first time since 2015

In 2018, the volume of technology exports from Russia reached $1.4 billion, an increase of 19% compared to 2017. This is the first growth since 2015, assessed at the Institute for Statistical Research and Knowledge Economics (ISIEZ) of the Higher School of Economics. The data was released on August 1, 2019.

According to experts, in 2018, engineering services dominated Russia's imports and exports (51.4% and 45.9%). This analysis category includes engineering consulting services provided during the design, design and operation of equipment, materials, instruments, structures, processes and systems.

The share of export revenues under agreements whose objects were protected objects of industrial property amounted to 2.4%, while in the structure of import payments their share reached 35.2%.

Total payments for patents for inventions, selection achievements, utility models and patent licenses are minimal - 1.3% for exports and 9.1% for imports. Basically, the main commodity in the trade in technologies with foreign partners is non-radioactive objects, that is, those that are not protected under the law, the study says.

Most often, Russian technologies in 2018 were bought by the United States ($224.3 million), Germany ($141.9 million) and Switzerland ($91 million). Among the countries of the Asian region are China and India, which accounted for $90.8 million and $52.3 million, respectively.

 In general, trade in technology and services of a technological nature in the global market has not reached significant proportions, experts say. In terms of transaction volumes, Russia took 27th position in the latest OECD ratings (according  to 2015 data ), located in them between Taiwan ($1.1 billion) and Portugal ($1.8 billion) in exports and between Portugal ($1.7 billion) and the Czech Republic ($2.4 billion) in imports.^[12]

See also

• Software export from Russia
• Gas exports from Russia
• Russian arms exports
• Export of confectionery products from Russia
• Export of food and agricultural raw materials from Russia

Notes